Irish Art seventh behind El Commodore

DEL MAR  When track morning-line maker Russell Hudak made the odds for Thursday’s seventh race, Carla Gaines was the trainer of Irish Art and the 5-year-old horse was the 5-2 favorite.

When the odds for the feature race of the day popped up, Irish Art was 7-1 and Jerry Quinn was the program trainer.

Gaines began a 30-day suspension on Thursday for a pair of testosterone positives, which occurred last year. Gaines’ last hope of remaining on the grounds was squashed on Tuesday when she wasn’t granted a temporary restraining order against the California Horse Racing Board.

The fans must have known something because Irish Art went off at 8-1 and finished seventh behind impressive allowance winner El Commodore ($13.20).

Still, the show must go on for the Gaines barn under the watchful eye of Quinn, who has 36 lifetime winners from 376 starters and earnings of $911,721.

“Carla is a very smart trainer and she has all the bases covered,” said Quinn in the paddock before the seventh race. “She has great help and everyone knows what they are doing. I think everything will go smoothly.

“I’ve been around horses my whole life. I’m just a name in the program in this unfortunate circumstance.

“Everything went smoothly this morning (during training hours). Everything is taken care of and there are no hiccups I can foresee.”

Quinn, who saddled his last winner in 2012, worked for Gaines this past winter at Santa Anita. Then, at Hollywood Park he was planning to go out on his own with a pair of 2-year-olds but injury and circumstance stepped in.

He was asked if he would take over during Gaines’ absence and he agreed.

According to track steward Scott Chaney, Gaines isn’t allowed on the grounds under any circumstance. She can’t even buy a ticket and watch from the stands.

“The biggest thing is she can’t gain any financial reward from the purses won,” said Chaney, who added separate bookkeeping measures will be kept under Quinn’s watch.

For now, all Gaines can do is watch the races on the television or the computer.

Gaines had just four starters the first two weeks of the meet with a win and second. She won the first division of the opening day Oceanside Stakes with Gervinho.

Hoofbeats

Thanks in large part to a pair long shots, Del Mar’s Pick Five record payoff was shattered on Thursday. The three winning tickets paid $121,520.20 for each 50 cent ticket. A victory by Goldilocks Planet ($48.80) in the second and Caramuru ($31.20) in the fifth helped break the old record of $79,664.60 set last year. Two of the winning tickets were bought on Twin Spires and one ticket was purchased on TVG.

• The long shots also contributed to the fact that the Pick Six carried over after the first four races of the six-race sequence. Friday’s carryover is $101,569 into the 4 p.m.

• Game On Dude, the likely favorite in the $1 million Pacific Classic, worked five furlongs Thursday morning over the Polytrack in 1 minute, 1.40 seconds. However, the work by the Bob Baffert-trainee was anything but normal as another horse dumped its rider on another part of the track triggering warning buzzers and red lights as the Hollywood Gold Cup winner was heading down the stretch.

• Jockey Garrett Gomez will meet with track stewards today at 1:30 p.m. in an effort to return to riding. Gomez had his agent call in for him on opening day to say he was sick. Gomez later admitted that he had fallen off the wagon with a relapse of alcohol abuse. Gomez, who also has a history of cocaine use, met with stewards last weekend informally to discuss the situation.

• Veteran jockey Patrick Valenzuela, who has had his own past drug and alcohol issues, is scheduled to ride six horses on Saturday in his latest comeback. Valenzuela had been retired and had knee surgery earlier this year before he decided to return to the saddle with new agent Rick Evans.